This invention relates generally to implements for planting agricultural crops in the ground and, more particularly, to an agricultural furrowing tool for combined fertilizing and paired row seeding.
It is commonly desirable to perform seeding and fertilizing operations in one pass over a field to be planted. This trend has continued with advancements in low-till and no-till planting implements. Ground working tools have evolved for planting in these no-till and low-till conditions for improving seed bed utilization. These tools are generally categorized as disc types or hoe types. Ground tools of both types have been developed which minimize the amount of disturbance of the ground surface when planting to avoid incorporating weed seeds into the ground that typically lay on the surface from prior years, thus preventing their germination.
Ideally, seeds are spaced evenly over an entire field. However, for practical purposes, seeds are planted in rows by ground working tools. The rows are spaced to achieve the best possible utilization of the soil area. Other factors affect row spacing, such as the need to allow field trash from prior years growth to pass between ground working tools while also arranging the ground working tools in a pattern which produces a smooth field surface. This has led to development of ground working tools which plant two rows of seed or a wide band of seed to achieve good seedbed utilization with fewer number of ground working tools and greater space between these tools thus allowing good trash flow. It is also common that these tools are designed to simultaneously place a row of fertilizer beside and below the seeds, or between the rows of seeds, thereby eliminating a need for fertilizing in a second pass and placing the fertilizer more accurately than is achievable in a separate pass.
Low disturbance hoe type tools that have been developed for combined seeding and fertilizing typically have a narrow leading blade that creates a deep furrow in which fertilizer is placed. They also include a seeding component which creates a more shallow seedbed in which a pair of seed rows or a band of seed is placed. In certain soil types and moisture conditions, the ground is badly fractured by the fertilizer blade. As a result, a seedbed that is firm and flat to establish good seed-soil contact cannot be formed. Additionally, the fractured ground may form clumps so that the seed placement and seed-soil contact are compromised with some seed being too shallow, too deep, or too close to fertilizer, which may be toxic to germinating seeds.
Another type of planting tool is known to have a standard sweep in a leading position for forming a furrow having a level or flat seedbed on which a pair of seed rows are placed, one to each side of the seedbed. The furrow is closed by soil passing over wings extending to the sides of the sweep. The tool further includes a second furrowing element comprising a rearwards angled blade for forming a second, deeper furrow between the rows of seed from 1 inch to 2.5 inches deep. A fertilizer dispensing tube is secured to the blade and also angles rearwards with the blade to dispense fertilizer into the second furrow. Designs of this type are known to cause high vertical forces in reaction to being drawn through the soil as the backswept blade forces open a deep fertilizer furrow. The total vertical reaction from many such tools attached to an implement would exceed the weight of the implement at some desirable working depths, which thus cannot be achieved. Additional weights are sometimes added to the implement to overcome this problem. Also, the location of the blade far back from the seedbed furrower is typically in a region where ground is flowing back or has flowed back to close the seedbed furrow. The ground must be displaced a second time causing more of it to be thrown beyond where it will flow back. The backswept orientation of the blade also causes ground to be thrown further laterally than narrow leading bottom point designs.
Improvements in the known prior art design are desired to include the following parameters: reduced soil disturbance compared to designs attempting similar seed and fertilizer placement; reduced draft force requirements and reduced vertical reaction force when drawing tools through the ground; improved seed and fertilizer placement; and better ground flow and furrow closure.
It is an object of this invention to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art by providing a low disturbance furrowing, seeding, and fertilizing tool for use with agricultural crop planting implements.
It is another object of this invention to provide a narrow body for a furrowing tool.
It is a feature of this invention that the furrowing, seeding and fertilizing tool is designed in a compact configuration.
It is an advantage of this invention that the narrow body of the furrowing tool results in a low disturbance of the soil for the placement of seed in the created furrow.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a furrowing, seeding and fertilizing tool that improves the placement of seed and fertilizer into the ground for the planting of agricultural crops.
It is another feature of this invention that the fertilizer stream entering the furrowing tool is directed forwardly.
It is another advantage of this invention that the fertilizer stream is placed accurately and for improved utilization thereof by the seed that is planted in the furrow.
It is another feature of this invention that the stream of seeds entering the furrowing tool is directed forwardly.
It is another advantage of this invention that the seed stream is placed accurately to take full advantage of the accurately placed fertilizer stream within the created furrow.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a furrowing tool for use with a planting implement that provides a low draft to allow for shallow seed and fertilizer placement.
It is still another advantage of this invention that the low draft design of the furrowing tool allows for shallow seed and fertilizer placement beneath the surface of the ground.
It is still another feature of this invention that the operation of the low draft furrowing tool preserves the seedbed on which the seed and fertilizer materials are placed.
It is a further object of this invention that the furrowing, seeding and fertilizing tool is designed with a modular construction to allow the use of the tool in a plurality of planting applications.
Forwardly directed fertilizer and seed streams provide a significant difference from known prior art furrowing tool designs and enables a compact design and accurate seed and fertilizer material placement. The resulting compact design and narrow body create a minimum of disturbance of the soil surface so that incorporation of weed seeds into the soil is reduced. A shallow indentation into the seedbed for placement of fertilizer is a minimal disruption that doesn""t disturb a row of seeds spaced laterally to each side, yet confines the fertilizer for accurate separation from the seed. Draft required to pull the tool through the ground to create a furrow is also reduced, as compared with known prior art furrowing tools that place fertilizer much deeper.
Modular construction allows for other applications of the tool without the particular fertilizer furrowing component of the present invention so alternate components can be used in different planting conditions.
These and other objects, features and advantages are accomplished according to the instant invention by providing a furrowing tool for an agricultural planter which is formed in a modular configuration to provide for paired row seeding operation. The furrowing tool includes a seedbed furrowing member having an edge lying in a flat cutting plane to form a substantially flat seedbed as the furrowing tool is drawn through ground and a fertilizer furrowing member extending below the cutting plane to form an indentation in the seedbed. The seedbed furrowing member is formed with an upper surface extending rearwardly from the edge and with a void between the upper surface and the cutting plane. The furrowing tool further includes a forwardly and downwardly directed fertilizer dispensing passage to direct a stream of fertilizer at a forward direction into the indentation formed in the seed bed. The stream of seeds is also directed forwardly onto the seedbed through the void formed between the upper surface and the cutting plane. A spreader can be provided to divide the seed stream into a pair of laterally opposing streams onto the seedbed. The seedbed furrowing member and the spreader can be formed as a modular component separate from the fertilizer furrowing member.